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2013-12-18 12:09 PM

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Subject: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
GROUP FOCUS: The focus of this group will be for those who are currently coaching athletes or those who are interested in becoming a coach. The goal will be to help those who are new to coaching with advice and support from those with more experience. In addition, hopefully there will be an ongoing discussion of issues faced by coaches, providing a community for coaches to utilize when they face challenges or just bounce ideas around. I also plan to provide some articles and book recommendations for those here to spark discussion and discourse around professional coaching.

As far as joining the group, I'm going to leave it open as I don't think there are so many coaches and prospective coaches on BT that it will be overwhelming and I think the ideal composition would be a mix of those with experience and those who are new to coaching.

NAME: gsmacleod - Shane MacLeod

STORY: I have been involved in coaching since I was 18 and have been coaching triathletes since 2007. I have coached sport at many levels, from recreational to international level athletes. In triathlon, I have coached age groupers and elite/development athletes, from those looking to do their first event to those racing in ITU elite events.

FAMILY STATUS: Married with two kids (4 yo and 4 month old)

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOR:

I believe that my experience as a coach as well as my passion for the development and support of professional coaches in the sport of triathlon will be part of the what will help this group be beneficial to its members. Our sport is very young and also has a very different demographic than most sports which leads to some interesting challenges when it comes to coach and athlete development and I hope that this group can help those looking to grow the sport.

In addition, as a professional educator, I have a strong desire to share my knowledge as well as to continue to refine my own coaching practice through interaction with other coaches. I hope that this will be a very supportive environment for coaches to share what they are doing as well as to encourage professional reflection on their practice.

If you have any questions, please drop me a line,

Shane


2013-12-20 12:45 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

NAME: ratherbeswimming / Elaine

STORY: I'm an engineer, and Army National Guard Officer, and a triathlete. I've been tri-ing for quite a few years and coaching for two. I've got a strong background in swimming (age 5 through college and then masters...) and I've been running a little longer than I've been cycling. I'm USAT and USAC certified.

FAMILY STATUS: single, living with the best dog ever.

CURRENT TRAINING: I'm Olympic focused. I'm chasing a dream of being able to try out for the Army tri team. This involves cranking out a 2:35 qualifying time! That time may get my foot in the door, but might not get me on the team.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Duathlon Nationals, Xterra trail runs, Ragnars... spent most of 2013 in Army training!

2014 RACES:  My first shot at sub-2:35 is SuperSeal in San Diego on March 16th. Rest of the season is TBD - I've got a spreadsheet of races to choose from!

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I'm excited about coaching - I've got some interesting stuff coming up (speed workouts with 8-13 year old football players!) in addition to developing myself as a triathlon coach. I'm also currently being coached - which has been a huge insight into how I coach. I've still got a LOT to learn, and lots to share as well. 

2013-12-30 1:21 PM
in reply to: ratherbeswimming

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Elaine,

Great to see you here - hopefully there is a bit more interest in the next little bit and we'll kick things off!

Shane
2013-12-30 1:23 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

Shane, as I mentioned in my PM to you a while back, I'm extremely interested in this group.  I guess I was waiting for it to go "live" before I posted.  I'll write up a bio very soon.

2013-12-30 1:49 PM
in reply to: Birkierunner

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Jim,

Glad to have you as part of the group. Now that it is live, I hope there will be some other coaches and those who are considering becoming a coach join us.

Shane
2014-01-02 12:24 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

Wow, I was thinking there would be a lot more replies to this mentor group.  Over the years it seems like I've seen tons of posts like "I just completed my USAT Level 1 course, so now I'm a coach".  I think we all know there are several active coaches on BT so hopefully we can get a critical mass going.

 



2014-01-02 1:31 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Shane this is an absolutely great idea for a mentor group and new approach. I will add my name into the group.
NAME: ratherbeswimming / Elaine

NAME: bcagle25 Ben Cagle

STORY: Been in the sport of triathlon since 2009. Went back to school to obtain my degree in exercise and sport science. I have a minor in nutrition as well. I have done ALOT of program design on the strength side of sport, worked with D-3 athletes daily and work in a strength center. I am also a certified personal trainer, and awaiting to officially hold my CSCS. Within the sport of triathlon I come from Madison, WI (the Boulder of the Midwest) I train with AG'ers to AG elites, to professionals daily. I worked under a coach/pro triathlete (Blake Becker) for 2 years, and that was some of the best education I ever got. I started coaching on my own last year, and expanded a to 2 more athletes this year. My whole philosophy with coaching is taking on a 360 degree view, the training plan should only be a fraction of coaching. If you really want to develop an athlete gradually over time you need to look at the big picture.

FAMILY STATUS: Single

CURRENT TRAINING: Swimming with a high school team, big off-season bike focus, and mixed running, snowshoe, XC skiing for off-season aerobic fitness.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Past year I competed at the olympic distance.

2014 RACES: All TBA, aiming for NOLA 70.3 but other then that I have a possible cross country move in the summer that is delaying any real season plans.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I have a solid educational background in exercise and sport science. I understand how the human body adapts to training well but I am still building my own school of thought. I am always interested in hearing and learning new concepts and ideas. I also have a lot of content I can add on my own into the discussion. I like to collaborate and build upon others ideas. I hope we can all improve each other through this avenue of communication.
2014-01-02 1:55 PM
in reply to: bcagle25

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
I guess I will start adding in some content with some interesting material I skimmed over last night.

http://www.fmh.utl.pt/agon/cpfmh/docs/documentos/recursos/112/Issur...

The jist is about traditional training periodization and the flaws that are part of it, and talking about how specific blocks of training focus are different and possibly more beneficial for athletes.
2014-01-03 6:56 AM
in reply to: bcagle25

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Ben,

Thanks for sharing that, I had read it before and then lost the link so was quite happy when Paulo posted that a couple of weeks ago.

After this weekend my schedule is going to settle down a bit so I'll be able to post more then and hopefully we'll see the group take off.

Also going to post about it in the main forum as I suspect there will be some who are interested but may not frequent the mentor forums.

Shane
2014-01-03 8:03 AM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

Hi ShaneBenJimLaneyDay!

Been meaning to post since this first appeared in the Staging Area ... ironically, too busy coaching right now (and workin' two other occupations and making sure my mother's taken care of) to get to everything I need and want to do.

Also, my coaching bio is somewhat different than my plain old sports bio, so I'll put that up soon ... I need to gather that info anyway, since I should put together a coaching resume.

Shane--for always fighting the good fight (without fighting), for everything that you do and everyone you help--thanks aren't enough but hopefully we can at least encourage you.

2014-01-03 9:50 AM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
I would LOVE to join this group! Great idea! I've been absent from BT for a little while, but coming back and looking forward to getting more involved again.

Here's my info:

NAME: jsnowash - Jenny Ashbrook

STORY: I've been involved in triathlon for over a decade, and spent a good portion of that time learning and hopefully sharing some knowledge here on BT. A few years ago, I began making the transition from participant to trainer/coach/educator (though I still participate, too...). First came a spin instructor certification, then personal training cert, then ITCA Coaching Cert and now USAT Coaching cert.

I'm currently coaching with Endurance Multisport, a large club in PA, and about 8 months ago, opened a spinning/fitness studio - InnerDrive Fitness (www.innerdrivestudio.com). In addition to traditional spin classes, we offer several classes with more of a performance/training focus. Starting the studio has been very time consuming and one of the reasons I haven't been on BT so much recently...

FAMILY STATUS: Married with 3 kids (12, 14, & 16)

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOR: I'm eager to learn from other coaches - both coaching techniques, and strategies for promoting and growing a coaching business.

Really looking forward to this!!




2014-01-03 9:55 AM
in reply to: jsnowash

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

I've got an interesting coaching challenge coming up:

2x/week for 2 months, I'll be leading workouts for 8-13 year old football players to build their speed. I'm a little terrified, but mostly excited! Oddly enough, the Crossfit Kids website has been an excellent resource for strength and power.

2014-01-03 10:03 AM
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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Hi, I'm interested in this group.

NAME: Chris

BACKGROUND:

42 years old. Married with 2 children. No coaching experience (or certification) specific to triathlon but feel it would be a natural fit for me down the road. I have a personal training certification and a strong background in sport and fitness going all the way back to high school.

2014 focus is Olympic distance with a highlight being Age Group Nationals on the calendar in August. I plan to move toward 70.3 in coming years but am looking for a natural progression to longer races and not pushing a specific timetable for that to happen.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE:

Aside from a couple of sprint races in 1999, 2013 was my first "full season" (7 races) in triathlon. I started out BOP, progressed to a few MOP finishes and ended with 2 podiums late in the season to qualify me for Milwaukee. I know I have a lot more to learn and a ton of potential for improvement. I'm the type that tries to learn and absorb everything I can from those around me and learn all there is to know about things that interest me. As a professional Fire Captain, I am already out front in a teaching/mentoring role and feel that with a few more years of knowledge and experience in triathlon that I can put myself in a position to be able to mentor/coach others.

Edited by Dominion 2014-01-03 10:05 AM
2014-01-03 7:02 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
I would love to be a part of this group.

Name: jmoney / Jason Kuder

Story: I have only been involved with Triathlons since 2010, though I have been involved with sports most of my life (Mainly Football, Soccer, and Basketball). I just seem to like the competition aspect of sports.

Family Status: Married with 2 kids (8 and soon to be 10)

I'm not up to Mentor status yet but I think I would be great as a mentoree (if there is such a thing). I've coached youth soccer and football but nothing in this realm. I currently do not have any certifications but I have been looking at them for the past few months. I keep going back and forth in following this dream about coaching. I'll be going on 40 this year and just think that I missed the boat with doing something like this since I have no formal education in personal training or coaching. I just seem to have this passion to learn all I can about this sport and share my experience with what I have learned.
2014-01-06 6:46 AM
in reply to: JMoney

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization.

I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization.

Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far!

Shane
2014-01-06 2:33 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

NAME: thor67/Thor

STORY: Been involved in team sports all my life. Lost a 100lbs and did a triathlon. Loved it and continued on with it. I coach hockey and lacrosse. Last year I was hit with an injury that caused my to miss the whole year. I decided to take my coach in training certificate(Alberta) and officials course to fill the time. I also started a local triathlon club last year. 

FAMILY STATUS: Married, 2 kids, my son 11, and daughter 6.  My wife started triathlons last year as well as my daughter doing her first. My son has done them the past couple of years.

CURRENT TRAINING: Strictly Oly/sprints for me. No time for anything else.

2014 RACES:  TBD

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I am passionate about the sports I coach. I enjoy helping those with the will and desire to succeed at their chose sport. 

 



2014-01-06 7:44 PM
in reply to: gsmacleod

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Originally posted by gsmacleod

Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization.

I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization.

Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far!

Shane


I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.
2014-01-07 10:26 AM
in reply to: JMoney

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Originally posted by JMoney

Originally posted by gsmacleod

Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization.

I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization.

Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far!

Shane


I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.


The understanding you have of periodization is a bit off. Traditional periodization is about progression over the long term. As you get more specific to your peak the specificity is more relational to what you are peaking for.

Look at in from a strength training perspective. You might start out with an anatomical adaptation phase, then hypertrophy, then general strength, max strength, power, peak. Each phase of training as a whole builds upon the previous phase and leads to the upcoming phase. Without certain phases in the right place you might not be properly training your body for the upcoming load. Triathlon is written out different but it can follow the same process.

What you are understanding periodization is more of "block periodization" as the text I posted earlier suggest.

I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it.

Also the more developed an athlete is from their past the more time they can take off. Professionals might take 2 months off after training and do cross training, or stay active in some way and then build up their year. Fro amateurs taking 2 months off might be more detrimental as their bodies are not as developed and performing at such a high level. I think many amateurs fail to understand this properly.

My off-season is structured as this. (16 week block)
Goals: Increase bike FTP, increase swim power/strength
Bike 3-4x a week, 2 hard rides, 1 easy "recovery" ride, 1 ride at tempo
Swim 5-6x a week. Swimming with high school team 2x a week. Lots of strength work (paddles, strength exercises) Focus on power, lots of 25-100 hard intervals. 2 easy swims per week of 2k doing all 4 strokes at low intensity. 1 aerobic swim each week as well.
Run: 1-2 runs per week, low intensity, 1-2 snowshoes/XC skiing a week.

In the long run my aim is to increase my bike fitness which in turn leads to better run fitness and able to race higher towards my threshold. I am looking to bridge into the FOP on the swim.
2014-01-07 10:26 AM
in reply to: JMoney

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Originally posted by JMoney

Originally posted by gsmacleod

Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization.

I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization.

Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far!

Shane


I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.


The understanding you have of periodization is a bit off. Traditional periodization is about progression over the long term. As you get more specific to your peak the specificity is more relational to what you are peaking for.

Look at in from a strength training perspective. You might start out with an anatomical adaptation phase, then hypertrophy, then general strength, max strength, power, peak. Each phase of training as a whole builds upon the previous phase and leads to the upcoming phase. Without certain phases in the right place you might not be properly training your body for the upcoming load. Triathlon is written out different but it can follow the same process.

What you are understanding periodization is more of "block periodization" as the text I posted earlier suggest.

I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it.

Also the more developed an athlete is from their past the more time they can take off. Professionals might take 2 months off after training and do cross training, or stay active in some way and then build up their year. Fro amateurs taking 2 months off might be more detrimental as their bodies are not as developed and performing at such a high level. I think many amateurs fail to understand this properly.

My off-season is structured as this. (16 week block)
Goals: Increase bike FTP, increase swim power/strength
Bike 3-4x a week, 2 hard rides, 1 easy "recovery" ride, 1 ride at tempo
Swim 5-6x a week. Swimming with high school team 2x a week. Lots of strength work (paddles, strength exercises) Focus on power, lots of 25-100 hard intervals. 2 easy swims per week of 2k doing all 4 strokes at low intensity. 1 aerobic swim each week as well.
Run: 1-2 runs per week, low intensity, 1-2 snowshoes/XC skiing a week.

In the long run my aim is to increase my bike fitness which in turn leads to better run fitness and able to race higher towards my threshold. I am looking to bridge into the FOP on the swim.
2014-01-07 10:44 AM
in reply to: bcagle25

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

Originally posted by bcagle25
Originally posted by JMoney
Originally posted by gsmacleod Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all. One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization. I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization. Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far! Shane
I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.
The understanding you have of periodization is a bit off. Traditional periodization is about progression over the long term. As you get more specific to your peak the specificity is more relational to what you are peaking for. Look at in from a strength training perspective. You might start out with an anatomical adaptation phase, then hypertrophy, then general strength, max strength, power, peak. Each phase of training as a whole builds upon the previous phase and leads to the upcoming phase. Without certain phases in the right place you might not be properly training your body for the upcoming load. Triathlon is written out different but it can follow the same process. What you are understanding periodization is more of "block periodization" as the text I posted earlier suggest. I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it. Also the more developed an athlete is from their past the more time they can take off. Professionals might take 2 months off after training and do cross training, or stay active in some way and then build up their year. Fro amateurs taking 2 months off might be more detrimental as their bodies are not as developed and performing at such a high level. I think many amateurs fail to understand this properly. My off-season is structured as this. (16 week block) Goals: Increase bike FTP, increase swim power/strength Bike 3-4x a week, 2 hard rides, 1 easy "recovery" ride, 1 ride at tempo Swim 5-6x a week. Swimming with high school team 2x a week. Lots of strength work (paddles, strength exercises) Focus on power, lots of 25-100 hard intervals. 2 easy swims per week of 2k doing all 4 strokes at low intensity. 1 aerobic swim each week as well. Run: 1-2 runs per week, low intensity, 1-2 snowshoes/XC skiing a week. In the long run my aim is to increase my bike fitness which in turn leads to better run fitness and able to race higher towards my threshold. I am looking to bridge into the FOP on the swim.

Good stuff. If there were anything to double-post, this would be it That was also a great review article--thanks for posting.

Just a note on the small bolded bit ... actually, the higher level and training load an athlete is at, the more and faster fitness is lost; it's lost on a curve, and the higher up on it you are, the further you're going to fall (the curves are also slightly different for S, B, and R). The flip side of that is that it's also regained faster, though. Pro triathletes are pretty varied in their "off" seasons, but very few do very little SBR for as long as 2 months. There might be a lot more unstructured "training," there might be moderate volume at quite low intensity and more fun stuff like mountain biking or hiking. Conversely, some drastically reduce volume but somewhat to considerably increase intensity.

2014-01-07 11:14 AM
in reply to: IndoIronYanti

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Originally posted by IndoIronYanti

Originally posted by bcagle25
Originally posted by JMoney
Originally posted by gsmacleod Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all. One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization. I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization. Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far! Shane
I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.
The understanding you have of periodization is a bit off. Traditional periodization is about progression over the long term. As you get more specific to your peak the specificity is more relational to what you are peaking for. Look at in from a strength training perspective. You might start out with an anatomical adaptation phase, then hypertrophy, then general strength, max strength, power, peak. Each phase of training as a whole builds upon the previous phase and leads to the upcoming phase. Without certain phases in the right place you might not be properly training your body for the upcoming load. Triathlon is written out different but it can follow the same process. What you are understanding periodization is more of "block periodization" as the text I posted earlier suggest. I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it. Also the more developed an athlete is from their past the more time they can take off. Professionals might take 2 months off after training and do cross training, or stay active in some way and then build up their year. Fro amateurs taking 2 months off might be more detrimental as their bodies are not as developed and performing at such a high level. I think many amateurs fail to understand this properly. My off-season is structured as this. (16 week block) Goals: Increase bike FTP, increase swim power/strength Bike 3-4x a week, 2 hard rides, 1 easy "recovery" ride, 1 ride at tempo Swim 5-6x a week. Swimming with high school team 2x a week. Lots of strength work (paddles, strength exercises) Focus on power, lots of 25-100 hard intervals. 2 easy swims per week of 2k doing all 4 strokes at low intensity. 1 aerobic swim each week as well. Run: 1-2 runs per week, low intensity, 1-2 snowshoes/XC skiing a week. In the long run my aim is to increase my bike fitness which in turn leads to better run fitness and able to race higher towards my threshold. I am looking to bridge into the FOP on the swim.

Good stuff. If there were anything to double-post, this would be it That was also a great review article--thanks for posting.

Just a note on the small bolded bit ... actually, the higher level and training load an athlete is at, the more and faster fitness is lost; it's lost on a curve, and the higher up on it you are, the further you're going to fall (the curves are also slightly different for S, B, and R). The flip side of that is that it's also regained faster, though. Pro triathletes are pretty varied in their "off" seasons, but very few do very little SBR for as long as 2 months. There might be a lot more unstructured "training," there might be moderate volume at quite low intensity and more fun stuff like mountain biking or hiking. Conversely, some drastically reduce volume but somewhat to considerably increase intensity.




Correct and I should have written it as peak fitness and baseline fitness. Those are two completely different levels of fitness.

Also I was thinking while writing this and I wanted to get everyone's view on "base" training. IMO this is very often misunderstood and believed to be done for 3-4 months during the winter months. I think this school of thought is poorly understood and in turn your "base" is really just your accumulated load over the years. I fail to grasp the idea of logging in hours and hours of zone 2 training in the winter months, especially when your summer months (for most) are the highest volume months. Again this all goes back and relates to periodization, so can fit into the conversation nicely.


2014-01-07 11:44 AM
in reply to: IndoIronYanti

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Melon Presser
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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

Geez. I haven't even posted a bio yet, much less contributed anything positive to the discussion ... guilty ...

The way periodization makes sense to me is to think of it simply as "structure."

There are many components regarding structure, and the more advanced or complex the athlete's goals or focuses are (both for a given "season" as well as long-term), the more of those need to be taken into account, and the more that structure needs to be personalized. Triathlon is particularly fun because of the three distinct sports involved which, optimally, are trained somewhat differently!

To me, the (realistically defined) goals are what drive the structure, or periodization, of training and which factors need to get taken into account for the individual athlete.

It might be fun to list components/factors/considerations ... timewise, the article mentioned cycles (which range from "workout"--and I'd argue even sets within a workout--all the way to multi-year). So each of those may need to be taken into consideration when planning training. (Otherwise, my brain's too fried to list--will come back to this).

What it seems like we're focusing most on here, though, is mesocycles of (as stated) 2-4 weeks. These can be (in triathlon) sport-driven, or metabolic-adaptations driven, or ______ (fill in the blank, this is a discussion ).

One last thing (for now) regarding periodization is that pretty much unless someone is a brand new triathlete, in which really any training in the three sports (and possibly anything else, honestly) that doesn't result in injury is going to produce positive adaptations that will just get them over the finish line--beyond that, IMO, it's important to view periodization and training structure planning as a progression towards the athlete's goals. In other words, it's not just doing a bunch of what may be very good single swim or bike workouts/rides over and over, but that they're actually building on prior ones toward what the athlete wants. (Running's a bit different in that you really can just run a safely-increasing bunch without much variation for several years and see outstanding improvement with just that ... in fact, I kind of recommend it. But let's say an athlete is a couple 2-3 years along, at least ... )

It's surprising to me how many pointy-end age groupers, want-to-be-pointy-end, and even pros train that way, though ... even with increasing load of one sense or another (increasing volume, intensity, or both), there's a lack of focused progression.

However, if you look at the MOST successful AGers and pros, that is definitely not the case.

More on "base" and "off season" later. Again, good stuff, Ben.

Finally--I'd really like it if we could throw in examples and case studies where relevant--either our own training, people we're coaching, people whose training/coaching we're very familiar with, or whatever.

Thanks, all!

 

 

 

 

2014-01-07 1:56 PM
in reply to: bcagle25

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Originally posted by bcagle25

Originally posted by JMoney

Originally posted by gsmacleod

Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization.

I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization.

Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far!

Shane


I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.


The understanding you have of periodization is a bit off. Traditional periodization is about progression over the long term. As you get more specific to your peak the specificity is more relational to what you are peaking for.

Look at in from a strength training perspective. You might start out with an anatomical adaptation phase, then hypertrophy, then general strength, max strength, power, peak. Each phase of training as a whole builds upon the previous phase and leads to the upcoming phase. Without certain phases in the right place you might not be properly training your body for the upcoming load. Triathlon is written out different but it can follow the same process.

What you are understanding periodization is more of "block periodization" as the text I posted earlier suggest.

I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it.

Also the more developed an athlete is from their past the more time they can take off. Professionals might take 2 months off after training and do cross training, or stay active in some way and then build up their year. Fro amateurs taking 2 months off might be more detrimental as their bodies are not as developed and performing at such a high level. I think many amateurs fail to understand this properly.

My off-season is structured as this. (16 week block)
Goals: Increase bike FTP, increase swim power/strength
Bike 3-4x a week, 2 hard rides, 1 easy "recovery" ride, 1 ride at tempo
Swim 5-6x a week. Swimming with high school team 2x a week. Lots of strength work (paddles, strength exercises) Focus on power, lots of 25-100 hard intervals. 2 easy swims per week of 2k doing all 4 strokes at low intensity. 1 aerobic swim each week as well.
Run: 1-2 runs per week, low intensity, 1-2 snowshoes/XC skiing a week.

In the long run my aim is to increase my bike fitness which in turn leads to better run fitness and able to race higher towards my threshold. I am looking to bridge into the FOP on the swim.


That is very good explanation. I definitely wouldn't ignore everything else but like you said you would give up some training time in other disciplines. How do you convince the people you train that reduce in some areas to increase in others? The mental problem that I have is I don't want to have any decrease in abilities that I'm reduce training on. Probably because I focused on those abilities at one point and would not want them to decrease. That's more of what I mean when I say if you don't use it your lose it.
2014-01-07 10:00 PM
in reply to: JMoney

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open

Originally posted by JMoney
Originally posted by bcagle25
Originally posted by JMoney
Originally posted by gsmacleod Welcome to all; great to see the interest and I hope that the group can prove to be valuable to all. One of the things that I wanted to talk about is the idea of periodization and since Ben already kicked off the discussion, that seems like a great place to start. This is an area where there is a great deal of confusion among athletes which, IMO, is further compounded by the fact that many triathletes have read Friel's Triathlon Training Bible and feel that they have a good handle on the idea of periodization. I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts on periodization; what it is, what it isn't, if your view has changed if you had a chance to read through the link that Ben provided, any questions that you may have regarding periodization. Hope everyone has a great week and that 2014 is going well so far! Shane
I have to say I have always been confused with Periodization. How I view Periodization is that you focus on a particular ability for a set amount of time (weeks). The confusion and the hard time I have trusting this idea is that if I'm focusing so much on this one ability what happens to the other abilities while I'm doing this focus? I've seen it on BT many of times where people will go to a run focus or a bike focus, and then the question will be asked how much ability will they lose in the other disciplines or how long will it take to get it back. Everybody will chime in and everybody seems to have different answers. Then I end up going back to ancient theory of "If you don't use it you lose it". So I feel guilty when I start to focus on one aspect of training and not all of it because I don't want to lose something that I spent time and energy to gain.
The understanding you have of periodization is a bit off. Traditional periodization is about progression over the long term. As you get more specific to your peak the specificity is more relational to what you are peaking for. Look at in from a strength training perspective. You might start out with an anatomical adaptation phase, then hypertrophy, then general strength, max strength, power, peak. Each phase of training as a whole builds upon the previous phase and leads to the upcoming phase. Without certain phases in the right place you might not be properly training your body for the upcoming load. Triathlon is written out different but it can follow the same process. What you are understanding periodization is more of "block periodization" as the text I posted earlier suggest. I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it. Also the more developed an athlete is from their past the more time they can take off. Professionals might take 2 months off after training and do cross training, or stay active in some way and then build up their year. Fro amateurs taking 2 months off might be more detrimental as their bodies are not as developed and performing at such a high level. I think many amateurs fail to understand this properly. My off-season is structured as this. (16 week block) Goals: Increase bike FTP, increase swim power/strength Bike 3-4x a week, 2 hard rides, 1 easy "recovery" ride, 1 ride at tempo Swim 5-6x a week. Swimming with high school team 2x a week. Lots of strength work (paddles, strength exercises) Focus on power, lots of 25-100 hard intervals. 2 easy swims per week of 2k doing all 4 strokes at low intensity. 1 aerobic swim each week as well. Run: 1-2 runs per week, low intensity, 1-2 snowshoes/XC skiing a week. In the long run my aim is to increase my bike fitness which in turn leads to better run fitness and able to race higher towards my threshold. I am looking to bridge into the FOP on the swim.
That is very good explanation. I definitely wouldn't ignore everything else but like you said you would give up some training time in other disciplines. How do you convince the people you train that reduce in some areas to increase in others? The mental problem that I have is I don't want to have any decrease in abilities that I'm reduce training on. Probably because I focused on those abilities at one point and would not want them to decrease. That's more of what I mean when I say if you don't use it your lose it.

If you're looking at periods of increased training in one sport vs the others, reduction done wisely doesn't mean you're reducing or losing or regressing at all--what you're doing is maintaining certain areas (in this case, actual sports) while focusing on gaining in others. (Wise reduction/maintenance can actually be very good for "consolidating" gains in one area ... this is one of the ideas behind taper).

It takes surprisingly little to MAINTAIN fitness in a sport that you've built up well.

Lots of great literature out there on this ...  I found this one re. running well-informed and accessible (and has citations):

http://www.roy-stevenson.com/retraining.html

2014-01-08 6:54 AM
in reply to: bcagle25

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Subject: RE: Shane's (gsmacleod) Coaching Mentor Group - Open
Originally posted by bcagle25

I should make it very clear that you don't just focus on one single ability completely and ignore everything else. It's more of a focus on say running by increasing volume, frequency, intensity, etc. while the swim, bike drop but are not lost completely. Think of it this way. Off-season training for a weak swimmer might put them in the pool 4-5x per week instead of 2-3x as they did previously. This would be an example of using frequency in sessions to focus on swimming, and in those sessions you might do stroke work, work on power, sport specific strength (paddles, bands, etc.) In the meantime you might go from running 3-4x a week to 2-3. You can also drop the volume or intensity and use your run more as a maintenance period if you will, but you do not cease running. Same would go for biking in this instance. You don't lose it because you don't stop using it.


A good post by Ben regarding periodization and the way that I like to look at it is simply as general to specific training. The further you are out from your goal event, the more general your training should be. This doesn't mean that it will be all easy (or all hard) but rather that the demands of your training aren't going to be specific to your goal event. This is why if you look at the training programs for short course and long course athletes, you will see more similarities than differences during the general period of training. While running is often mostly easy during the general phase, it is quite common to see lots of intensity during the swim and bike.

For the sport focus described, Mike Ricci has a post about sport rotation that presents a bit of an overview. As Ben mentions, it isn't about totally skipping the other two events but to use the limited training time to focus on one sport while putting the other two into a maintenance mode. This allows an athlete to increase training load in one sport while the other two may see a decrease but ideally enough to prevent any significant loss. There are some coaches that recommend not swimming through the winter due to the fact that most triathletes won't see much gain in swim splits anyway. I feel that this is short sighted and overlooks not only the gains that can be made in the water but the gains that can be made on the bike and run by being fresher out of the water.

http://d3multisport.com/season-planning/sport-rotation-in-triathlon...

Shane
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